Report: Jessica Ridgeway Murder Suspect Aspired to be Mortician, Turned in by Mom

WESTMINSTER, Colo. — The 17-year-old suspect in the abduction and murder of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway reportedly wanted to be a mortician. KDVR reports Austin Reed Sigg confessed to killing Ridgeway to his mother, Mindy Sigg, who then called police.

The Associated Press reported having a brief conversation with Mindy.

“I made the phone call, and he turned himself in. That’s all I have to say,” she said before she broke down in tears and hung up the phone.

Sigg, 17, of Westminster is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection to the death of Ridgeway, who disappeared while walking to school on October 5. Her body was found dismembered in Arvada, Colo., on Oct. 10.

KDVR reports that Sigg was arrested at his mother’s home Tuesday night. The home is located in Westminster, approximately 1.5 miles from where Ridgeway was abducted.

Authorities say that Sigg, a student at Arapahoe County Community College, is also expected to be charged in connection to an earlier kidnapping attempt near Ketner Lake in suburban Denver on May 28. In that attack, a 22-year-old jogger fought of the suspect, now believed to be Sigg. Police say that they uncovered a connection between the May attack and the Ridgeway case earlier this week. Sigg is expected to be charged with attempted abduction for the May 28 attack.

Sigg is in custody at the Mountain View Detention Facility in Westminster.